FOLLOWING the success of the first session in a series of afternoon tea dances in Okehampton, organisers are calling for photographs, information and stories about former dances in the town.

Time for Life — a community mentoring service which works with socially isolated over 65s to encourage and enable them to get out and about — organised the tea dance sessions in Fairplace Church Hall for the winter period, the first of which was deemed a great success.

Jenny Beavon, community development worker for Time for Life and who helps organise the dances, said they had been approached by many people in the town who said they used to have tea dances and other dances in the town in the 1940s and 50s.

She said: 'I spoke to a local historian and he confirmed there were dances. There were the 2/6d bops and sometimes two dances were held in different venues on a Saturday night in the town, so a lot of people must have been getting out there and actually dancing instead of sitting and watching it on TV.

'The tea dance is gaining in popularity and becoming a fashionable thing to do.'

Jenny and her colleagues are interested to hear from anyone in the town with information on these dances and any pictures, which they hope to make into an information board to display at the dances.

The next dance will take place on the afternoon of Sunday, October 26. Although originally for over 65s, Jenny said people of any age were welcome to come along and join in.

The sessions are at the moment only being held over the winter, but it is hoped that interest will continue and the tea daces can develop and grow.

The winter sessions have been funded by Okehampton United Charity and Connected Communities, but if continuing, organisers hope for it to become sustainable through the takings on the door and to continue the dances into the spring and summer if the teachers were willing to continue coming from Sidmouth to Okehampton.

Anyone with information or pictures can email Jenny at [email protected]">[email protected] or call her on 01822 810564.